Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Recently,
a lawsuit was filed against California State University Monterey Bay,
alleging that a professor at that university had illegally used public
resources in sending an email to students encouraging them to vote “yes”
on Proposition 30. In commenting on the CSUMB professor's behavior, CSU General Counsel Christine Helwick stated:

"We have previously reminded faculty and staff that it is not
permissible to use state resources including classroom time for any
political advocacy. This email [encouraging students to vote "Yes" on
Prop 30] clearly crossed that line and the campus is taking appropriate
personnel action."

Generel Counsel Helwick's statement is based on a California statute which makes it illegal for any state employee to use public resources for political or personal reasons.

In an effort to ensure that there is no double standard in CSU’s
enforcement of California law, the AMCHA Initiative co-founders wrote to
CSU General Counsel Helwick and asked her, in light of her recent
statement, to rule on the legality of CSU Northridge Mathematics
Professor David Klein’s use of the CSUN webserver to post his anti-Semitic webpage promoting the boycott of Israel. You can see AMCHA's letter to General Counsel Helwick HERE.

AMCHA reveals to State Assembly members the anti-Jewish bigotry
of California Scholars for Academic Freedom

In
late September, a group of faculty members who call themselves the
California Scholars for Academic Freedom (CS4AF) wrote a letter to the
California State Assembly opposing the Assembly’s unanimous passing of HR 35,
a resolution condemning anti-Semitism in institutes of higher
education. This letter also openly praises boycott, divestment, and
sanction (BDS) campaigns against Israel.

CS4AF claims that their primary goal is to protect California scholars
from violations of academic freedom. However, their true mission is to
protect faculty that promote academic boycotts of Israel at their
universities. The founders of CS4AF are also co-founders and organizers
of the anti-Semitic U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott
of Israel, which they feature prominently on the CS4AF website.
Ironically, an academic boycott of Israel has been declared a violation
of academic freedom by the American Association of University Professors.

Additionally, many of CS4AF signatories have participated in creating a
harassing and anti-Semitic environment for Jewish students by engaging
in various activities such as supporting campus BDS movements,
organizing anti-Israel events on campus, and trying to shut down
University sponsored study abroad programs in Israel.

AMCHA Initiative co-founders wrote to all the members of the California
State Assembly to make them aware of the true intentions of CS4AF and to
expose how many of the letter’s signatories have misused their
university's name and resources to promote their political hatred of the
Jewish state and engage in efforts to harm it. You can see AMCHA's
letter to state legislators here.